The Crystal Rose
by KutieKate3188
Summary: KuramaxHiei, my first fic o, Im not good at summeries so...the team is sent on a mission, they succeed, something unexpected happens, genkai has a daughter, etc. u know, the usual, ...NOT! u have to read this! ch. 10's up!
1. New mission?

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, wish I did though, I'd have lots of bishounens! ^o^  
  
Ch. 1  
  
Oh where've they gone? Where've they gone? Where've they gone? Thought Botan, as she soared on her wooden oar, looking around for Yuusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei. Let's see.it's not a Ningen holiday.schools not out yet, which means Kurama is probably still in class and Hiei's probably waiting for him in some tree nearby, so I know where two outta four are at least. Too bad she couldn't say the same for Yuusuke and Kuwabara.they spend more time doing their hair than going to school. ::Sweat drops appear on Botan's head:: Think Botan, think!......hmm?..!!!!! Thought Botan right before she crashed into a big wooden sign.  
  
!!BAM!! "Hey Urameshi, I think something crashed into our sign.," Kuwabara said as he felt the vibration of the pole that both he and Yuusuke were lugging, "Oh hey! It's Botan! Hi Botan! What're you doin up there?"  
  
"Ooooowwww.I'm not up here by choice you know...," Botan said as she slowly slid down from the sign.  
  
"Did she scratch it?"  
  
"How am I supposed to know Urameshi???"  
  
"I'll be down here crying if you guys decide to stop arguing."  
  
"Oh sorry Botan, anyway, why didn't you watch where you were steering that thing?" asked Yuusuke as he pointed to the oar (which by the way, doesn't have a single scratch on it, Botan on the other hand.)  
  
"Well, I was in a hurry to find you two, and what's the sign for?"  
  
"I'll explain it Urameshi! You see, some stupid gang members have been goin around tryin to make people think that this is their territory, but it's really ours, so we decided that since we don't always have the time to beat up every single jerk who goes around sayin that, we decided to put up this big sign, read it! I painted it myself!"  
  
"Don't mesz with oar teritorree oar else yew'll get pownded bye the grate Kuwabara and Urameshi!" ::Botan falls down::  
  
"Uhh.Kuwabara.how long has it been since you've stayed in school for more than 5 minutes?"  
  
"Uhhhhhhhh, I think it was when I was in 6th grade?"  
  
::Botan falls again::  
  
"Ok, forget the sign right now, why were you looking for us? Another mission?" asked Yuusuke, a little ticked that he hadn't bothered to check Kuwabara's spelling before lugging it all the way to the most popular spot in their territory.  
  
"Bingo! But before I can tell you what it is, we have go wait for Kurama and meet him at his school."  
  
"What about the shrimp?...err Hiei?" Kuwabara quickly changed the name and looked around for Hiei, just in case he'd sensed Botan's Ki and was hanging around them.  
  
"Koenma said that if we go meet Kurama, we'll find Hiei as well."  
  
"O.K.! I, the great Kuwabara, the greatest of all."  
  
"Morons? Or the greatest of all blockheads? Take your pick, we don't have all day"  
  
"Who said that??? Urameshi??"  
  
"Hey! Don't look at me! I didn't say it!" Though I wish I'd thought of that...,thought Yuusuke.  
  
"Hn, nothin beats a moron or a blockhead more than a STUPID moron or blockhead."  
  
"Hey, I know that voice," thought Yuusuke.  
  
"Oh! Hey! It's.," Yuusuke started to shout.  
  
"HIEI! YOU LITTLE TWERP! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE GREAT.," Kuwabara exclaimed as he scanned the area for the little fire youkai.  
  
".king of idiots? Was that how you were gonna finish your sentence?" asked the youkai as he stepped out onto a lower branch from the tree he'd been in.  
  
"Why you little shr.mmph!" Yuusuke covered Kuwabara's mouth.  
  
"Do you seriously want to get fire shoved up your ass?" whispered Yuusuke.  
  
Suddenly, Kuwabara turned a little pale at the thought, and backed off, shoving his hands into his pockets.  
  
"So how much did you hear Hiei?" asked Yuusuke, trying to change the subject.  
  
"Enough," as Hiei turned his head away from Yuusuke, since his interest in arguing with Kuwabara was fading away and focused up the tree he was still standing in.  
  
"Oh, ok, so we don't have to tell you much than," Yuusuke said.  
  
"Hn."  
  
::Sigh:: Now that his interest is gone, he's going back to single word sentences now.thought Yuusuke observantly, what's he staring at? Is there something in that tree?   
  
Hiei's red eyes kept a constant gaze up into the tall greenery of the tree. Suddenly, soft rustling sounds came from where Hiei was staring at and down jumped Kurama, settling on the same branch as Hiei. Hiei leaned his back against the tree trunk now that Kurama had finally finished changing clothes, though Kuwabara and Yuusuke didn't know that, and Kurama opted to sit on the branch, letting his feet dangle above Botan's head.  
  
"Kurama? Since when were you in that tree???" asked Kuwabara, slightly disturbed at Kurama's sudden appearance.  
  
"Hn, like I said, nothing beats a moron or an idiot more than a STUPID moron or idiot."  
  
"Shut up shrimp! And by the way, you said moron and BLOCKHEAD, not idiot."  
  
"::Snort:: Does it really make you that proud to remember that?"  
  
".."  
  
"Hn, thought so."  
  
Then, Hiei turned his attention away from Kuwabara to Boton, Kurama, and Yuusuke, who were trying to stifle their laughter with their hands and sleeves and shoulders. Botan looked like she was going to have a heart attack, Yuusuke was holding his stomach so tight that it looked like he was going to squeeze himself to death, and Kurama was shaking very violently and his face was jus a few shades lighter than his crimson hair. The sound of Kurama's laughter lit up Hiei's sour expression, but Hiei covered it up in a minute, before anyone could see the ghost of a smile that had escaped his lips. While waiting for everyone to recover from their fits of laughter, Hiei played with a leaf that had fallen into his lap. Kurama had recovered from his fit pretty fast and was watching Hiei try to burn certain parts of the leaf.   
  
"I saw you smile even while I was laughing, you know," whispered Kurama into Hiei's ear, his hot breath caressing a few hairs near Hiei's ear.  
  
"Hn."  
  
"I like it when you smile, it makes me want to smile too," Kurama continued to whisper.  
  
"Hn.you looked so happy when you were laughing that I HAD to smile," Hiei said breathlessly as Kurama's breath continued to caress his hair.  
  
"Really?" whispered Kurama as he nuzzled his face into the base of the youkai's neck.  
  
"Hn.."  
  
Hiei's face was starting to flush and his breath came in shorter lengths, almost in gasps. Kurama knew Hiei never liked public displays of affection, so Hiei's acceptance of his gesture was really surprising. Then, when he was still nuzzling Hiei's neck, he felt a slight vibration coming from Hiei's throat.was Hiei.purring? Botan soon recovered from her fit of laughter and put a hand to her ear.  
  
"Hey guys, I think there's a cat nearby.I can hear it purring!"  
  
"A kitty? Where? Where?"  
  
"Well, looks like you finally stopped sulking, eh Kuwabara?"  
  
"Shut up Urameshi! Now where's the kitty?"  
  
It took Hiei a lot of will power to finally pushed Kurama away and turned his head from view so that the other guys couldn't see the fact that his face was still flushed.  
  
Kurama whimpered a little at the sudden change but recovered when he saw why Hiei had stopped him.  
  
"Ahem.so, what's the mission then?" asked Kurama.  
  
"Oh! It's just to go and stop a couple of mid B-classed youkai, nothing too big," Botan chided.  
  
"HN? What the hell does Koenma need us for then? He could easily spare a couple of his guards or ogres!" Hiei protested.  
  
"I must say I agree with Hiei, surely there must be something unique about this? What did the youkais do anyway?" asked Kurama.  
  
"Ah, good question! Well, I don't really understand this myself but Koenma said they stole something called the Crystal Rose bud, I've never heard of it before so I can't tell you guys what it does.," Botan said sadly.  
  
"Crystal Rose? Is it really a rose made out of crystal?" Kurama said unexpectedly, though not really surprisingly.he loved plants, especially roses, so it was just natural for him to ask about the Crystal Rose, since he's never seen, let alone heard about, even in his youko life.  
  
"Yup!"  
  
"Then why doesn't he just get a new one made?" asked Yuusuke.  
  
"Well, you see, I don't know how it works but the Crystal Rose is made of crystal but it's also a living, breathing plant! Koenma wouldn't tell me much about it for some reason, but he said that if that bud was to blossom in the wrong hands."  
  
"Yah? What'll happen?" asked Yuusuke as he, Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara all leaned a little in Botan's direction.  
  
"Something bad will happen!"  
  
::All 4 guys fall down::  
  
"We kinda figured that already!" exclaimed Yuusuke.  
  
"Then why'd you ask?"  
  
"Ok ok, forget it, now where can we find the youkais?"  
  
"I'll open an opening to the Makai right now, when you get through, they'll just be a few miles to your right, ready guys?"  
  
"Guess so, jus do it already, I have to get back by 6 because I have a date with Keiko and you know how she gets when I'm late!" 


	2. Easy mission, now Hiei's boxers?

Ch. 2  
  
Yuusuke and the others had successfully crossed the opening into the Makai. They quickly ran in the direction that Botan had pointed out and it wasn't long before they came across the youkais carrying a big wrapped object towards a cave nearby. There was only about 6 youkais and they weren't exactly really strong so the team killed them within a matter of minutes without even breaking a sweat. Then they turned their attention back to the bundle.  
  
"So.what'll we do with it Urameshi?" asked Kuwabara.  
  
"Uhh, I don't really know.geez, I thought we were gonna save a Crystal Rose bud.but this thing's gotta be about as big as 7 basketballs put together.," said Yuusuke with a frown.  
  
"Well, this does pose as a problem.we can't take it to the Human World, someone's bound to notice it," said Kurama, a small wrinkle forming between his eyebrows.  
  
"Hn, why not just take it to Koenma right now? Or better yet, call Botan and get her to take it there?"  
  
"Shut up shrimp, if it were that easy, we'd have done it!" said Kuwabara.  
  
"HN, oh ya? Well, what's so hard about it? And don't say 'cuz it jus is'!"  
  
"Uhh, well, there are plenty of things that's hard about it.like.uhh.help me out Urameshi!"  
  
"Sorry Kuwabara.but I think Hiei's right, we should just take it straight to the Reikai."  
  
"But didn't you have a date with Keiko? It's 5:45 now.," Kurama pointed to his watch.  
  
"Oh shit.I didn't know that.great.now what?" asked Yuusuke.   
  
Yuusuke was tough but when it came to Keiko.he was no match, even with his Rei gun.  
  
"Well, how about you just go on to your date then? Hiei and I'll just take it to the Reikai, I don't think there'll be any need for all of us to be there now that the danger's gone," suggested Kurama.  
  
"Huh? Yah! That'd be great! But what about Kuwabara?" asked Yuusuke.  
  
"Well, if I'm not mistaken.I overheard that he had a date with Yukina, don't you?" asked Kurama as he whirled around to face Kuwabara.  
  
"Uh, well, I ...you see...ya, you guys can manage getting that thing back to the Reikai without the help of me right? The great...," Kuwabara started to say from embarrassment and somehow turning the whole thing into his usual egotistic speech. His face was still flushed by the way, from the mentioning of his upcoming date with Yukina.  
  
"Uhh, guys? Did it just get realllly hot out here or is it just me?" asked Yuusuke.  
  
"JAOU ENSATSU KOKURYUUHA!!!" (Black dragon of darkness, the one from Hiei's arm)  
  
"Uh oh..." the trio said together as they scattered to avoid the lunging dragon who seemed hungrier than usual.  
  
"HIEI! STOP IT! PLEEEEEESE!" whined Kurama, he didn't want to sound like a spoiled child but he didn't want to risk breaking the crystal rose bud, he wanted to study it before returning it to the Reikai and hopefully take a seed or two from it for his collection. He stretched his use of "puppy eyes" to the max, putting whoever had first made it up to shame. No one could resist his puppy eyes, especially the girls at Miou High School, the school he goes to while still living as Minamino Shuuichi. One glance at Kurama and Hiei started to summon the dragon back into the tattoo on his arm.   
  
Yuusuke poked his head up from behind a bush as Hiei was summoning the dragon back. Am I imagining things or is Hiei blushing? thought Yuusuke.  
  
"Kuso shrimp! What the hell did you do THAT for?" asked Kuwabara.  
  
"Hn, so you have a date with Yukina huh?"  
  
"Ya, what of it? Come to think of it, why is it that everytime I mention going out with Yukina or ANYTHING AT ALL that I do with Yukina you freak out and get mad? Do you have a crush on her or something? Huh? Huh?" asked Kuwabara who obviously still hasn't figured out that Yukina was Hiei's twin that still doesn't know Hiei's her brother, though, at times, there were small things that Hiei did that would make her stop and think. She knows he's her brother but decided to play dumb until he thinks it's right to confront her about it, until then, she's just happy that she's finally found him and that he's so close by.  
  
Hiei nearly choked and stared at Kuwabara with a disgusted look. Kurama and Yuusuke turned to each other and were going to burst out laughing if it weren't for the fact that Hiei was glaring at them. Almost everyone knew Yukina was Hiei's twin...that is, except for Kuwabara and supposedly Yukina, though she already knows.  
  
"::Snort:: Sicko!" said Hiei.  
  
"What? What? What's going on? What don't I know? Why are you two laughing and why did you call me a sicko?" asked Kuwabara, obviously confused.  
  
"Just shut up you stupid moron!"  
  
"What'd you say shrimp? You wanna fight for her?"  
  
Hiei just glared at him and flitted away in an instant and rested up on top of a pine tree that loomed at least 13 feet up right next to where Kurama was standing. Kurama was doubling over, quivering and shaking violently, laughing like there's no tomorrow. Yuusuke wasn't doing anything different, except he was also rolling around on the grass. Since his uniform was green anyway, it didn't make a difference if he got grass stains.   
  
"Ya.gasp.why.gasp.don't you.gasp.fight for her?" asked Yuusuke, playing dumb and trying to catch his breath. Hiei just stared daggers into him, making Yuusuke shiver, but the situation was so funny that the shiver turned into a violent quake of laughter. Kurama finally caught his breath and turned to Kuwabara.  
  
"Kuwabara, you honestly don't know why Hiei's so protective of Yukina?" asked Kurama.  
  
"Uhh, I don't really know what's goin on between them but I'm gonna fight for her if it goes to that!" exclaimed Kuwabara.  
  
"Ok, then I'll tell you why."  
  
"HN!!! Fox."  
  
"You see."  
  
"FOX"  
  
".she."  
  
"FOX! DON'T YOU DARE!"  
  
".." with that, Kurama leaned in and whispered into Kuwabara's ear.  
  
"What? Is that all? Jeez.I was all worried that you had a crush on her or something."  
  
"What do you mean.," asked Hiei.  
  
"Just because you don't want her to spill your secret to everyone, doesn't mean you have to be so protective."  
  
"NANI??? What the hell are you talking about Kuwabara? What secret?" asked an exasperated Hiei.  
  
"I mean.::snicker::.people don't usually care about that kind of stuff,.... ::snicker::.you don't have to be ashamed that..::snicker::."  
  
"NANI??? I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO BE ASHAMED ABOUT!"  
  
"Oh come on.you don't have to play Mr. Toughguy about it...it's nothing you should be ashamed of!" said Kurama, obviously trying to control his laughter. He went over to Yuusuke who had by now, finished laughing, but when Kurama whispered to him what he had told Kuwabara, Yuusuke started his second round of laughter, joined in by Kurama. Hiei never and still doesn't like being made fun of and patience was running dangerously low as he waited for Kuwabara to finish.  
  
".::snicker::.just because you.you.you.BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" was all that came out of Kuwabara when he crumpled down to the ground, his red face matching his orange hair nicely.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL?" boomed Hiei.  
  
"because you.HAHAHAHAHA!....BECAUSE YOU WEAR BOXERS WITH LITTLE FURRY BUNNY RABBITS ON IT THAT SAY 'SUPER DEMON'!!!! HAHAHAHA!"  
  
"NANI??? .K.I.T.S.U.N.E.!!!!!"  
  
"Don't hide it.you can't deny it." sang the fox, as he helped Yuusuke up and they started dancing and singing it together. Kuwabara was still laughing at the fire demon.the one that was always so strong and tough.one of the most vicious thieves and murders in all of Makai.who wore.boxers with little furry bunny rabbits on them that have a caption coming out from each of them that say "Super Demon".  
  
"BUT I DON'T WEAR BOXERS WITH BUNNIES THAT SAY 'SUPER DEMON'!"  
  
Everyone was too busy laughing to even hear the little fire youkai. Too busy to notice the fumes coming out of his ears when he heard and repeated the lie that Kurama had told the gullible Kuwabara and Yuusuke, even though Yuusuke already knew the true reason to Hiei's protectiveness of Yukina. In fact, Yuusuke knew quite a lot of things, he was far more observant than he let on. He knew that Kurama and Hiei had feelings for each other, Kurama was the only thing that saved them from the dragon on Hiei's arm a moment ago. Yuusuke had expected Hiei to do as Kurama had asked but he hadn't expected Hiei to blush when he saw Kurama and his infamous "puppy eyes". So Kurama has an affect on the little fire youkai.mused Yuusuke. He knew that if he said THAT out loud, Kurama would turn a few shades lighter than his hair again and Hiei would probably release the dragon on him too.so to be on the safe side, Yuusuke kept his thoughts to himself. Wait, thought Yuusuke, can't Hiei also read minds? Yuusuke turned to Hiei and sure enough, he was staring daggers right into Yuusuke's eyes.  
  
"::Gulp:: K..K..Kurama, could you stand in front of me?"  
  
"Huh? Uh sure but why?"  
  
"Because I don't want to become dragon-chow."  
  
"And you'd prefer that I do???"  
  
"Hiei wouldn't do that to you,.but I don't think he minds doing it to me!"  
  
"Nani? Why would you think he wouldn't do that to me?"  
  
"Umm.." Think Yuusuke, think Yuusuke...oh! I got it! "Because you're his best friend!"  
  
"And friends mean WHAT to Hiei?"  
  
"Good point...uh.but.I think that friends and best friends are a big difference to Hiei! Ya, that's it! See, I'm just a friend so I don't mean a thing to him, but you're his best friend and you mean.well.SOMETHING to him at least."  
  
"Yuusuke, you're weird."  
  
"Oh come on Kurama, just stand in front of me!"  
  
"..." Even though Kurama didn't say anything, he stepped in front of Yuusuke, becoming the only thing that separated him from Hiei. Hiei's face got even redder, even more twisted with spite.  
  
"Kuso!!!" exclaimed Yuusuke.  
  
"What is it?" asked Kurama.  
  
"I just realized.YOU'RE the one he's reallly mad at.you're the one who started that lie." Explained Yuusuke.  
  
"Oh ya! I can't believe I almost forgot!" Kurama turned around and faced Hiei, who in turn, glared back at him. They look like they're having a conversation by just looking at each other's eyes, thought Yuusuke. Finally, after about 3 minutes of staring, Hiei seemed to relax a bit, his rage gone for the time being. Kurama relaxed as well and sighed in relief.   
  
"He's not mad anymore?" asked Yuusuke.  
  
"Ya, he says it's not worth wasting his energy on."  
  
"He said that? But how could he? I didn't hear you guys speak for 3 whole minutes!"  
  
"Umm, well." Kurama started playing with his sleeve. "You said Hiei and I are best friends and that best friends and regular friends mean different things to Hiei. Well, being his best friend, I have the privilege of having a bond with him telepathically."  
  
"Oh really? I see."  
  
"Ya, that's all there is to it."  
  
"Really? Interesting."  
  
"Honestly!"  
  
"Sure, I believe you."  
  
"I swear it!"  
  
"I said I believe you!"  
  
Kurama was now tugging at his sleeves with sweating palms and his face flushed. Had Yuusuke really figured out about me and Hiei? No way, he couldn't have.I've been using discretion and I've been careful not to make advances at Hiei in front of them, thought Kurama.  
  
Everyone was too busy laughing to even hear the little fire youkai. Too busy to notice the fumes coming out of his ears when he heard and repeated the lie that Kurama had told the gullible Kuwabara and Yuusuke, even though Yuusuke already knew the true reason to Hiei's protectiveness of Yukina. In fact, Yuusuke knew quite a lot of things, he was far more observant than he let on. He knew that Kurama and Hiei had feelings for each other, Kurama was the only thing that saved them from the dragon on Hiei's arm a moment ago. Yuusuke had expected Hiei to do as Kurama had asked but he hadn't expected Hiei to blush when he saw Kurama and his infamous "puppy eyes". So Kurama has an affect on the little fire youkai.mused Yuusuke. He knew that if he said THAT out loud, Kurama would turn a few shades lighter than his hair again and Hiei would probably release the dragon on him too.so to be on the safe side, Yuusuke kept his thoughts to himself. Wait, thought Yuusuke, can't Hiei also read minds? Yuusuke turned to Hiei and sure enough, he was staring daggers right into Yuusuke's eyes.  
  
"Well, I've got to be going now, I need to get to Keiko before she can think of the ways she can kill me if I'm late."  
  
"Oh ya! Wait for me too Urameshi! I've got to get to Yukina too!" said Kuwabara.  
  
Kuwabara had been laughing so hard that he got tired and had taken a nap. He had waken up right before Urameshi was walking off.  
  
"See you guys later!" both boys called out to Hiei and Kurama.  
  
"Say hi to Keiko and Yukina for us!" Kurama yelled back.  
  
Turning back to Hiei, Kurama said, "We'd better get this to the Reikai before it gets dark here."  
  
"Hn." 


	3. Rain delay

Ch. 3  
  
"HN.just wonderful.just wonderful.," mumbled Hiei, as he flung off his cloak and started squeezing the water out of it.  
  
"Oh come on Hiei, it's not that bad, the rain will stop soon, you know how unpredictable the weather here in the Makai is," said Kurama, as he unbuttoned his school uniform.  
  
Kurama and Hiei had been caught in a sudden rain storm as they were heading back to the gate that would take them back to the Ningenkai. They were still a long way from the gate and decided to seek shelter in a cave they found near by. When Kurama had spotted the cave, Hiei had quickly scooped Kurama up and flitted there before they could get even wetter. Unfortunately, Hiei's cloak and boots had both gotten soaked and Kurama's shirt had been drenched.  
  
"What's wrong kitsune?" asked Hiei, he'd noticed that Kurama was shivering a little.  
  
"Nothing, why do you ask?" asked Kurama, he knew he must be shivering like crazy but hoped Hiei wouldn't notice anyway. He didn't want to seem weak in front of fire demon.   
  
"Don't lie to me fox, what's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing, why do you ask?"  
  
"Fox.what the hell's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing, why do you ask?"  
  
"..nngh.can you say anything else?"  
  
"Of course I can!"  
  
"Then what's wrong???"  
  
"Nothing, why do you ask?"  
  
"ARGGGH! FOX! WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU?" yelled Hiei, as he grabbed the kitsune's shoulders. Hiei's scowling face suddenly turned to shock, Kurama felt so cold! Since Hiei was a fire and ice demon, he never got too cold or too hot, unless it was REALLY HOT or REALLY COLD, otherwise, he wouldn't feel a thing.  
  
"..H...H...Hiei? W.W...Why that f...f...face?"  
  
"Dammit fox! You're freezing! Why didn't you say so?"  
  
"W.W.What are y.y...you talking a..a..about?"  
  
"Don't try to hide it, you're shaking like mad and you're stuttering!"  
  
"Am n.n.not!"  
  
"See? You're stuttering!"  
  
"S.s.s.so? Everyone's g.g.got a secret or t.t.two! I stutter whenever i.i.it rains!"  
  
"You're a terrible liar when you're freezing, you know that fox?"  
  
"S.s.shut up! Y.y.you're not h.h.helping you know," said Kurama, as he turned his back away from Hiei. Kurama expected Hiei to just turn around, say "Hn", and curse at the rain as each drop fell. He WAS a fire demon after all, and he hated the water. But to Kurama's surprise, Hiei didn't do any of that, instead, he embraced the kitsune from behind and held him close. The warmth of Hiei's body surged into Kurama as he just sat there in Hiei's arms. Kurama then started to wiggle, trying to get out of the little youkai's embrace. I'm supposed to be mad at him, thought Kurama, I can't let him think that I'll forgive him just like that! But no matter how hard Kurama struggled, he couldn't get out of Hiei's arms, the fire demon was little but his whole body was practically made of all muscle, his powers increasing every time he trained with Mukuro. Finally, after a useless struggle, he just gave up and leaned into Hiei's embrace.  
  
"Hn, it's about time."  
  
"About time for what?" asked Kurama, turning his sleepy emerald eyes up to meet Hiei's red ones.  
  
"It's about time you realized that your struggling is useless, especially since you're cold and tired."  
  
"::Yawn:: You just wait.::yawn::.when I get my strength back.I'll be able to get out of your hug.," said Kurama, his eyes now growing extremely heavy and his words becoming even more entwined with yawns. The fox was so comfortable now that Hiei had shared his warmth, and soon dozed off in Hiei's arms. Hiei didn't mind having the cold fox pressed against him, he was all too happy to help the fox. My body temperature is way over 1200 degrees Fahrenheit, thought Hiei, shouldn't my body heat be too much for the fox to handle? Hiei stared down at the now sleeping kitsune in his arms with a puzzled look. He seems comfortable enough, thought Hiei, but how.? Soon, Hiei decided to sleep as well, but still kept his katana close by and his embrace on the fox firm but not crushing.  
  
Just as dawn broke, Kurama woke up, examining the cave a little more closely. He hadn't noticed the night before, but there were sounds of rippling water coming from further down in the cave. Wiggling in every possible way without waking Hiei, he finally managed to get out of the little youkai's protective grasp. He walked down cautiously, ready to defend himself in case there were any other youkais in the cave. Suddenly, he noticed that there was light coming from a tunnel up ahead that turned to the left. He peeked into the tunnel and gasped. The small tunnel led into room where there was a natural hole in the ceiling, letting the sunlight pour into the room. A small river of water flowed through the room and into a big miniature lake. The water in the lake was crystal clear and reflected the light that shone on it. Rocks nearby had some fresh green moss growing and parts of the walls had ivy and vines tangled together, cascading downwards with little flowers blooming on them. Flowers of all different colors were blooming around the whole room, giving the room a sweet aroma of wild flowers. Kurama just stood there, at the entrance to the tunnel, gaping at the whole scenery. The place looked so calm, so serene, so.pure and holy. He took a step, and then another, and another, and a few more, until he found himself right in the room. He tested the water to see if it was really water because it wasn't a guaranteed thing in the Makai. After making sure it was actual water, he stripped and stepped in. The water was neither too hot nor too cold. The sun light from above had heated the water to a very comfortable temperature, which pleased the kitsune. He bathed in the water and then started to play with it. Unlike Hiei, he liked the water very much, and started to float about in the lake. He felt so refreshed and relaxed that he wasn't aware that Hiei had woken up right after the fox had trotted off to explore the cave. Hiei quietly followed the fox and peeked in just as Kurama had and gasped as well. The cave was beautiful that words couldn't even be used to describe it, his stare then settled onto the lake and his eyes danced as he tried to follow every single ray of light that was reflected perfectly off of it. Then, his eyes settled to Kurama, he watched the kitsune float around on the water, his crimson hair darkened to the color of blood because it was wet. Hiei watched Kurama's chest rise and fall as he breathed steadily and memorized every little line that defined the muscles on Kurama. Suddenly, Kurama's eyes snapped open when he sensed the little youkai's familiar ki. He stopped floating and stood in the water which rose up to his waist.   
  
"You're awake! I was just cleaning myself off," said Kurama.  
  
"Hn, looks like you were playing more than bathing."  
  
"Well, you see, I uh.hey! Why don't you come in and take a bath too? If I remember correctly, you got some of those other youkais' blood on you, you're getting awfully sloppy you know."  
  
"Shut up fox, I don't need your opinion, and I'm NOT taking a bath."  
  
"Oh come on! We're going to the Reikai to see Koenma, don't you want to at least clean up a little?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
"If you don't say yes or no, I'm going to take that as a yes."  
  
"Fine, no!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Stupid fox."  
  
"What are you getting angry for?"  
  
"At your stupidity."  
  
"Oh, so now I'm stupid? Next you'll be telling me I look like Kuwabara!"  
  
"Now that you mention it."  
  
"OH! THAT'S IT! I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU!" exclaimed Kurama as he turned away abruptly, causing water to splash around him. He dove under the water and started to explore the plants down below, not even caring if Hiei will actually go in or not.   
  
::SPLASH::  
  
Hmm, did something fall into the water, thought Kurama, maybe Hiei threw something in. He turned around and swam back to the shallow end where he finally came up for air.  
  
"Hiei? You're going to take a bath?"  
  
"Hn, no, I just decided to walk in and out of the water for no apparent reason at all."  
  
"So you ARE taking a bath!"  
  
"Hn, stupid fox."  
  
"Well, if you knew you were going to end up in here anyway, why did you argue with me?"  
  
"Hn.kitsune, do you remember what I said the day Genkai made us run that obstacle course she made?"  
  
"That it was a complete waste of your time?"  
  
"And?"  
  
"And that it was like having fun compared to what Mukuro made you do?"  
  
"And?" "And that you could finish the course in less than 2 minutes flat?"  
  
"And?"  
  
"And.I don't know! You complained a whole lot that day! How am I supposed to know?"  
  
"Think fox, what'd I say when wanted us to go through that stupid waterfall?"  
  
"That you weren't going to do it, and hey! By the way, you never DID go under it, did you?"  
  
"Hn, that's not the point, think fox!"  
  
"Ok ok.I think you said something about the fact that you're a fire demon.oh! I'm so sorry Hiei! I forgot you hate water!!!"  
  
"Hn.well, I don't HATE water.I just don't like cold water, but I guess this is ok.it's a little warm at least."  
  
"Haha! You admit it! You like it!" exclaimed Kurama as he splashed the little fire youkai.  
  
"HN! What'd you do that for???" asked Hiei.  
  
"Helping you start your bath, you won't get clean if you just stand there!"  
  
"Hn," was all Hiei said when he dove underwater and started to scrub himself clean. Kurama dove under as well and went back to exploring the plants down below. Suddenly, a thought came to Kurama and he quickly went up for air and jumped out of the lake. He glanced back and when he was satisfied that Hiei was still scrubbing, he went over to where Hiei had discarded his clothes. Fumbling through, he was determined to see for himself what kind of underwear Hiei wore. Maybe the bunny lie I told is really true! Thought Kurama.   
  
"What are you doing kitsune?" asked Hiei, making Kurama jump up 3 feet into the air.  
  
"Uh, hehe, well I was just wondering what kind of underwear you wear? Do you really wear bunny boxers? ^o^;;" asked Kurama as he silently prayed for his life. Hiei's eyes burned like fire for a minute but then calmed down.  
  
"Stupid kitsune, you could've just asked."  
  
"Well, ok, what kind of underwear do you wear?"  
  
Kurama's question was rewarded by a blow on the head with a rubber hammer.  
  
"Where did you get that?!?!" asked Kurama, now holding his head, trying to lessen the throbbing pain.  
  
"Stole it from Keiko, I saw her using it on Yuusuke when he said her butt looked big in the jeans she was wearing." ::Kurama falls down::  
  
"Well, why'd you hit me with it then?"  
  
"Because you're being stupid, what kind of underwear do you THINK I wear?"  
  
"Boxers?"  
  
"If you knew, why'd you ask?"  
  
"But what color? Do they have prints on them? Like oh say.bunnies?" Kurama was rewarded with another blow.  
  
"What colors do you think kitsune? What colors do you think I'd wear?"  
  
"Well, definitely black.maybe blue? You wear blue tank tops sometimes."  
  
"Bingo!" said Hiei, doing his best Boton imitation.  
  
"You sure no bunnies? I bet you'd look cute in them," said Kurama and ducked just in time to avoid the blow from Hiei and grabbed Hiei's wrist, pulling him even closer to him.  
  
"Ok, so forget the bunnies, and maybe forget the boxers as well, I think you look beautiful either way, with or without boxers," whispered Kurama into Hiei's ear. Kurama kissed a spot behind Hiei's ear that made him shiver.  
  
"K.K.Kurama! Not here! We still have to get that thing back to Koenma."  
  
"He's already waited a day, what's another hour or two?" asked Kurama as he kissed around Hiei's neck.  
  
"Hn."  
  
Suddenly, a glow came from the corner of the room. A blue/green/silver colored light filled the room, startling both Hiei and Kurama.  
  
"What the hell is that?" asked Hiei, angry that his moment with Kurama had been interrupted.  
  
"I.I.I don't know.but it's coming from my clothes," said Kurama.  
  
"What? Well, what'd you put in your pockets?"  
  
"Nothing! Except the crystal rose bud, that is."  
  
"How'd you fit that damn thing in your pocket?"  
  
"Well, I unraveled all the wrappings around it and believe it or not, the whole thing's only the size of a pen, you know, including the bud and stem."  
  
"Hn."  
  
They crept closer to Kurama's clothes, using their hands to shield their eyes because the light coming from Kurama's clothes became even brighter as they approached. Both demons felt a strong ki coming from the light, something so strong that they couldn't even determine what class the youkai was.that is.if it WAS a youkai. The ki became too overwhelming, even though Hiei and Kurama were both very high classed demons, they couldn't handle all the power they felt and soon blacked out. 


	4. Child of the Rose

Ch. 4  
  
After blacking out, Hiei was the first to wake up. Then, he turned to his side and started shaking the kitsune.  
  
"Wake up fox!"  
  
"Just a few more minutes kasaan."  
  
"Do I LOOK like a ningen woman?"  
  
"Don't worry kasaan, you look beautiful, NOW can I have a few more minutes?"  
  
"." Hiei didn't know what to do, then, after thinking for a minute or two, he leaned in close to the kitsune's ear, took a deep breath and.  
  
"Shuuichi! You slept in too late! You're an hour late to school!!! I thought I raised you to be the perfect child! Oh this makes me sooo sad.I think I'm going to cry!" wailed Hiei, trying to imitate Kurama's kasaan's voice, even though he didn't know why he even bothered to try, Kurama's kasaan had a soft, gentle voice compared to Hiei's surprisingly low bass voice.   
  
"WHAT? I'M SO SORRY KASAAN! I DIDN'T MEAN TO SLEEP IN! FORGIVE ME! I'M UP, I'M UP!" exclaimed a now very panicked Kurama.  
  
"Hey! Where'd kasaan go? I can't believe I made her cry.especially since she was sick.I think.her voice sounded very odd," said Kurama, starting to sniffle. Meanwhile, Hiei was trying to wipe away the smile that had appeared on his usually expressionless face but just couldn't stop smiling.  
  
"What are you smiling at?"  
  
"Baka kitsune!"  
  
"Nani? What'd I do NOW?"  
  
"::smirk:: Nothing, nothing at all!"  
  
"Oh fine! Don't tell me! Anyway, what happened? I remember a bright glowing light and then.nothing!"  
  
"Hn, I don't know what happened either.just that whatever it was, came from your pocket."  
  
"The light's gone.hey wait.is it just me or do you smell something?" asked Kurama as he sniffed the air, both he and Hiei had very sensitive noses, Kurama being a fox and all, and Hiei just being Hiei.  
  
"Hn.it smells like.roses.mixed with.something else.I can't tell what the other thing is."  
  
"I agree.well, let's go check it out!"  
  
"Hn? Excited kitsune?"  
  
"Of course! Now COME ON!" said Kurama as he practically dragged Hiei over to where the scent was coming from. They crept cautiously towards Kurama's clothes.errr.well, Hiei was creeping cautiously.Kurama was almost jogging over to his clothes. Finally, the two approached Kurama's clothes but gasped at what they saw. They approached the object in awe, forgetting about Kurama's clothes. What they saw was a beautiful single rose floating in mid-air. The whole rose was made of crystal, from every thorn to every petal. When the light of the sun from the sky above shone on it, rainbow specks of light were scattered everywhere, making the whole room seem like it were trying to contain all the stars of the universe in it.   
  
"::Gasp:: Hiei.the rose bud.has blossomed!"  
  
"Hn.it's.beautiful.but wait, are we gonna get in trouble because it bloomed?"  
  
"Oh, umm, I don't really know."  
  
The whole time they were talking, they never took their eyes off of the floating rose, then, Kurama was unaware of the fact that his hand was reaching out and touched a petal. Suddenly, the rose glowed a silver color, making Kurama jump back. Then, the rose started expanding in size, growing and growing.  
  
"Baka kitsune! What'd you do?"  
  
"I.I didn't do anything! I just touched a petal!"  
  
"Then why the hell is it growing so big?"  
  
"How should I know?"  
  
They argued and kept stepping back at the same time, but didn't have to keep it up for long because the rose stopped its sudden growth. The rose was now, in width and length, the size of a king sized bed, and the stem was on the floor, coiling in small loops like a rope. Then, they saw a girl's face appear, peeking out at them from over one of the gigantic petals.   
  
"Who are you?" growled Hiei as he took his stance and had a hand over his katana. The girl started to shake a little and took refuge behind the petal.  
  
"Hiei! You scared her! Take your hand off your katana and don't be mean!" said Kurama, who was now heading over towards the big blossom. Kurama carefully placed his foot on an upraised leaf and after making sure it was firm enough to hold his weight, he put his other foot on it and leaned over through the gap between two of the petals. He couldn't believe what it was like in there! Shades of blue, purple, and green cascaded and danced around inside the blossom, unlike the shades of vibrant reds, oranges, yellows, indigo, and many other shades that were dancing outside of the blossom. In the center of the blossom sat the girl they'd seen, on a cushion of thick blue satin, which Kurama assumed was naturally a part of the rose. He looked at the girl carefully, surprised that she looked nearly his age when he was in his ningen form, not the youko's. He wasn't sure about how long her hair was or what it's color was because of the shades of blues, greens, and purples, but he could tell that her hair was probably way past her waist, since it flowed around her like a blanket. If she was wearing clothes, he couldn't tell, her hair covered everything from view.  
  
"Why don't you come out? We won't hurt you, Koenma sent us to save your flower from some youkais.we never expected your flower to bloom on the way back to the Reikai though," said Kurama in his most gentle voice. But the girl just looked at him with fear in her eyes.  
  
"Kurama.I think you'd better put some clothes on," said Hiei. Kurama turned around and noticed Hiei had already put on his pants, boots, and tank top, but hadn't put on his cloak yet. Kurama looked down at himself and blushed; he hadn't realized he wasn't wearing any clothes. He ran over to his forgotten clothes and put them on while Hiei stepped on the upturned leaf that Kurama had been standing on and peeked between the gap. To Kurama's surprise, Hiei started talking to the girl, not in his previous harsh manner, but in a soft, gentle manner, that reminded Kurama of Yukina. He was so preoccupied with thinking of other ways that Hiei reminded him of Yukina that he didn't hear a word that Hiei had said to the girl. When he had finished listing all the little things that Hiei and Yukina had in common, he turned back to the blossom and Hiei and widened his eyes when he saw the girl's head poke out of the gap again, this time a little less afraid. Hiei was smiling in satisfaction at his accomplishment. Kurama jogged back to the two and just stared at the girl. Now that her face was out of the blossom, he could tell what color her hair and eyes were. Her hair was as black as night with a couple different shades of red streaks. Her bangs were grown to the bottom of her face and only one side of the bangs were a shade of turquoise blue. Her eyes were a deep blue, reminding Kurama of the color of the deepest part of the ocean. Her eyes were so calm and serene that they resembled something familiar.what was it?  
  
"Hn."  
  
"What is it Hiei?"  
  
"She reminds me of you."  
  
"What? How?"  
  
"Both of you came from unique places and your eyes are very similar."  
  
"Hiei, incase you haven't noticed.her eyes are blue and mine are green."  
  
"NO BAKA! I mean, your eyes look like pools of green, like emeralds. Her eyes are like pools of calm ocean waters, like sapphires. Both of you guys have eyes like jewels."  
  
".oh Hiei.that's the most romantic thing you've ever said to me!" exclaimed Kurama as he turned into chibi form and pounced onto Hiei's face and clung to him.  
  
"Baka kitsune! Get off of me!" yelled Hiei as he flung his hands around like windmills, trying to keep his balance. Unfortunately, they were too close to the water and Hiei tripped and both he and Kurama ended up soaked. Looking up, they saw the girl start to shiver again and for a moment, Kurama thought they'd scared her again, but then she burst out laughing. She tried desperately to stop giggling but she just couldn't. Her laugh sounded like little silver bells ringing, the sound was so sweet. Kurama and Hiei just smiled, and then joined in with her laughter.  
  
"You should have seen the look on your face when you fell in!" Kurama exclaimed.  
  
"HN! Look who's talking kitsune! Even in your chibi form, your eyes were bulging out!" retorted Hiei. Then, Kurama, Hiei, and the rose girl kept on laughing for a good 2 minutes.   
  
"Hn, now that we've calmed down, what's you name girl?" asked Hiei.  
  
"Oh yah, you never told us, did you?" asked Kurama.  
  
The girl just looked at them and blushed. Both Hiei and Kurama climbed out of the water and Hiei used his powers to dry their clothes and hair. Then, Kurama reached into his hair and pulled out a rose and handed it to the girl.  
  
"Please tell us your name, I'd like to know it very much," said Kurama as she accepted the rose and stared at it.  
  
"Hn.hey kitsune, .what if she can't talk? We know she can laugh but maybe she can't talk or doesn't know our language?" asked Hiei after thinking for a while.  
  
"Oh, I never thought about that.," said Kurama, a little disappointed.  
  
"Umm.I can talk.," said a voice that sounded like the tinkling of silver bells. Both Hiei and Kurama snapped their heads to her direction and Hiei ran over to her, grabbed both her shoulders, and started shaking her.  
  
"Then why the hell didn't you say so before?" yelled Hiei. The girl just started to shake and whimpered.  
  
"Hiei! Stop! You're scaring her again!" yelled Kurama. Hiei stopped shaking her but kept on mumbling to himself.  
  
"I.I.I'm sorry, but I had to take the time to learn how you guys talked.," answered the girl. Hiei stopped mumbling and stared at her.  
  
"You mean you didn't know how to talk until a few minutes ago?" asked a very puzzled Hiei.  
  
"That's impossible!" exclaimed Kurama.  
  
"No it's not.finding a 16 year old in a rosebud should have been impossible but hey! Look at me! So learning a language in 5 minutes shouldn't seem as impossible," replied the girl.  
  
"Hn.great, just great, she picked up your optimism too, Kurama," said Hiei as he slapped his head.  
  
"Umm.but I didn't pick it up from Kurama.that's just me," replied the girl.  
  
"I think she's very nice," said Kurama, "why don't you come out?"  
  
The girl stepped out from behind the petal and cautiously jumped onto the elevated leaf and then down to the ground. She flipped her hair behind her back, since it was getting in the way. When she did so, she revealed that she was indeed wearing clothes. Her dress was snow white colored with short sleeves and a slit from the bottom up to her knees on both sides. It was decorated with beautiful embroidery from pieces of crystal. Around her waist was a thin sash of turquoise blue, just like her bangs, and wrapped around her waist and hips loosely about 4 times before being tied into a knot to the side with the rest of it cascading down her side to her ankles. On her feet were white slippers, (no, not like bed slippers, more like the shoes the ancient Chinese wore, like Tamahome's shoes from Fushigi Yugi), that were also embroidered with beautiful pieces of crystal. When she moved, her dress and shoes glittered beautifully in the light and maybe even if the light weren't there, her dress and shoes would probably still shine. She sat down on one of the rose's leaves nearby and started braiding her extremely long hair into a single braid. It took her a while but she finally managed to do it, weaving in many different colored roses that Kurama had pulled out of his hair. Then, she reached into a crevice in the rose and pulled out a long strand of white leather and used it to tie her braid.  
  
"You never told us your name," Kurama said after watching her graceful moves.  
  
"You guys can call me Seiko," she said.  
  
"Alright then Seiko, how come you're sixteen years old and living inside a plant?" asked Hiei.  
  
"I didn't choose to live in the rose you know.," said Seiko.  
  
"Then why are you in there?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"How'd you get in there?"  
  
"Not a clue."  
  
"What's so special about the rose?"  
  
"It's made of crystal?"  
  
"Who are your parents?"  
  
"Next question?"  
  
"Are you mocking me?"  
  
"Are you trying to intimidate me?"  
  
"...-_-+, why.you.little."  
  
"Who are you calling little? I'm taller than you!"  
  
"THAT DOES IT! JAOU ENSATSU KO."  
  
"THAT'S ENOUGH YOU TWO! HIEI, DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT LETTING THAT DRAGON OUT OR I SWEAR I'M GOING TO GET MAD!"  
  
Hiei hesitated but summoned the partially let out dragon back. He knew Kurama was powerful in both his ningen and youko form, so making him mad wouldn't be the best thing to do.  
  
"HN! She started it!"  
  
"Did not! You did!"  
  
"Ok, enough you two, you're acting like spoiled children!" Kurama exclaimed. Oh look, he thought, both of them are on fire.  
  
"I think Yuusuke and the others should meet you.THEN we'll have to see if we should still take you back to the Reikai. 


	5. Seiko meets Reikai Tentai equals missing...

Ch. 5  
  
Hiei flitted from tree to tree in the Ningenkai, looking around for Yuusuke and the others. Kurama followed close by, carrying the girl on his back because both he and Hiei weren't sure if she could keep up with their speed. They both felt the familiar ki of Yuusuke soon and followed it all the way to Genkai's temple.  
  
"Hn, we should have known they'd all be training here," said Hiei.  
  
They both hopped onto a branch in a tree near Genkai's open court where she trained both Yuusuke and Kuwabara. Sure enough, they were training very hard, sweating and both covered with a couple scratches and bruises. They were about to start fighting again but stopped when they sensed Hiei and Kurama's ki.  
  
"Hey you two, did you guys get the flower thingy back to Koenma yet?" asked Kuwabara.  
  
"Well, not exactly," said Kurama. The shade of the tree hid Seiko, who was still on his back.  
  
"What'dya mean not yet?" asked Yuusuke with widening eyes.  
  
"Well, you see, it kind of.bloomed when we were about to get it to the Reikai, we were caught in a rain storm right after you guys left and had to spend the night in the Makai. When we woke up, it just sort of.bloomed," said Kurama.  
  
"Why do I get the feeling that's not all?" asked Yuusuke with a groan.  
  
"Hn, you're very observant aren't you?"  
  
"Shut up shrimp! We don't need any of your smart remarks," said Kuwabara.  
  
"Hey! Don't pick on Hiei you meany!" said a voice that sounded like silver bells ringing softly.  
  
"Who said that?" asked Kuwabara.  
  
"That would be the rest of what we had to tell," answered Kurama.  
  
"What?" asked both Yuusuke and Kuwabara.  
  
"That voice.," said Genkai to herself, "it sounds familiar."  
  
"Well, whoever takes the side of that shrimp must be a complete loser, because I, the great Kuwabara." Kuwabara started to say but was immediately stopped when a shoe flew right into his face.  
  
"OWW! WHO DID THAT?" whined Kuwabara, who was rubbing his nose. Just then, Yukina walked out from the temple, carrying a tray of lemonade.  
  
"Oh wow, who's is this? It's very beautiful," said Yukina as she bent, balancing the tray in one hand and picking up the slipper with the other. As she held it out for everyone to see, it sparkled all over, its beautiful embroidery of crystal pieces shimmering in the light.  
  
"Is that what hit me? Gosh, it really IS pretty isn't it?" asked Kuwabara as he reached out to take the shoe in his hand. Suddenly, there was a flicker of air and the shoe disappeared.  
  
"HN! Don't touch it, you're going to cover it with your germs," said Hiei with the shoe still shimmering in his hand, even though he was in the shade of the trees. He walked over to Kurama and handed it to him. Or so it seemed. From below, it seemed like he was giving the shoe to Kurama but he was actually handing it to Seiko, who was still on the back of Kurama. When she reached out and took it with her slender hand and said thank you to Hiei, Kuwabara and Yuusuke both jumped back a step.  
  
"Holy crap Kurama, you didn't tell us you had more than 2 hands!" they exclaimed. They were both rewarded by a whack on the head, courtesy of Genkai.  
  
"You two knuckleheads.there's someone on Kurama's back!" said Genkai, shaking her head, wondering how two Reikai detectives could be so stupid. Yukina giggled and went back around the temple to water some flowers.  
  
"So who's behind you?" asked Yuusuke.  
  
"Her name is Seiko," said Kurama.  
  
"Hi!" said Seiko.  
  
"Why do you guys have her then?" asked Kuwabara.  
  
"Well, you see." and Kurama told them about all that happened, from waking up after the storm and finding the beautiful cavern, to deciding to let Yuusuke and the others meet Seiko, leaving out the part where he made a move on Hiei, of course.  
  
"Oh wow.I wonder what Koenma's going to say." said Yuusuke.  
  
Everyone hadn't noticed but Seiko had silently slipped off Kurama's back and had disappeared into Genkai's Forest of Darkness.  
  
"Uh, hey, guys? Speaking of Seiko.where'd she go?" asked Kuwabara.  
  
"What do you mean? She's right.here?" Kurama said in surprise when he noticed Seiko wasn't on his back anymore; she was so light that he never noticed her absence. They began looking around for her, in bushes, up other trees, under steps, behind rocks, everywhere! Suddenly, Yukina came running towards them with panic etched all over her face.  
  
"Yukina, my love! What's the matter? I, Kuwabara, the greatest of."  
  
"HN! Cut the crap you moron!"  
  
"You know what shrimp? You can just shut up!"  
  
"Why don't you take your own advice?"  
  
"Shut up bunny boy!"  
  
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"  
  
"OK, BOTH OF YOU, KNOCK IT OFF!" yelled Genkai in a VERY stern voice.  
  
"What's the matter Yukina?" asked Kurama.  
  
"Gasp.when.gasp.I was watering the flowers.gasp.I saw Seiko wander into Genkai's Forest of Darkness!" said Yukina, still gasping for breath.  
  
"WHAT?" asked everyone, which included Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara, Yuusuke, AND Genkai.   
  
"It's too dangerous for her to be in there!" said Genkai as she started to run towards her forest. Everyone else followed close by, except Yukina, who went inside the temple to get out some herbs and medicines in case Seiko was hurt. Everyone ran into the forest and searched around for Seiko. The dangers of the forest didn't harm Genkai since she was it's guardian, it didn't harm Yuusuke or Kuwabara because they were there a couple times, enough for the forest to recognize them as powerful opponents, Hiei was too fast to be caught (and the forest didn't want to be burned to the ground), and it didn't hurt Kurama because he was a youko after all.plants were his specialty and they loved him! (Duh) Suddenly, they heard a shriek coming from the direction of the dangerous bat that Yuusuke had encountered before when Genkai held the competition to choose her apprentice. They all looked at each other with worry in their eyes before running as fast as they could to the bat. When they finally got there, they couldn't believe their eyes! Seiko was floating a few feet off the ground, her dress fluttering around her legs and her braid snapping like a whip behind her.  
  
"I will KILLLLLL youuuuuu," said the bat as he hovered above her, thinking of the best ways he could kill her.  
  
"Well, alright then, but I have to say.I'm.VERY.MAD! You didn't have to step on that rose! You could have just stepped around it!" yelled Seiko, her fists clenched tightly.  
  
"Oh yahhhh? Well what are youuuuu going to do about it?" asked the very amused bat/man/human eater. Seiko's face started to flush from all the anger she was experiencing.  
  
"You.bastard.fine! If you want a fight, then I'll fight, but I'm going to have to tell you, I'm not easy to beat!"  
  
"Hmmm? YOU'RE going to fight ME? AHAHAHAHA! This will be very innnnnnteresting indeed!"  
  
Behind some bushes, the team and Genkai watched on.  
  
"Shouldn't we stop him?" asked Kurama.  
  
"No, I have a feeling she can handle him without breaking a sweat," said Genkai.  
  
"HN! Are you sure about that?" asked Hiei, he didn't want to admit it, but Seiko had grown on him when she'd thrown that shoe in Kuwabara's face for teasing him, he was very surprised. No one but the kitsune had ever really stood up or taken his side before. Hiei's grown as protective of her as he was with Yukina, maybe even more so. But suddenly, he sensed a great power stirring in the air and he quickly snapped his head up and realized that it was coming from Seiko!  
  
"How.," Hiei said mostly to himself, "ok, maybe she CAN handle him, but where'd all that power come from? We've spent most of the day with her but I haven't sensed any power from her at all."  
  
"Could she have been masking it?" asked Genkai.  
  
"I don't know if she knows how." said Kurama.   
  
"Prepare to dieeee," said the bat/man/human eater.  
  
"Sure I will, but only when my time comes, but until then, I'm going to continue living, if you don't mind," replied Seiko. Her expression wasn't it's usual innocent, pure self, it was now more serious, colder, and sent out a feeling that said "you don't want to mess with me". She flew up higher so that she was level with the bat and pointed a finger upwards.  
  
"What? Is there something up there?" asked the bat/man/human eater.  
  
"No, I'm just about to attack you.SPINNING CYCLONE!" She twirled her finger in upward circles, imitating a cyclone and soon, wind gathered around her finger at an extremely high speed. She was now controlling a huge cyclone on the tip of her finger. With a flick of her finger, it spun towards the bat/man/human eater and entrapped him. He spun in circle after circle after circle. She just hovered for a bit and started to re-braid her hair. It took about 5 minutes to get her hair right and then with a wave of her hand, the cyclone stopped, disappearing without a trace. The bat fell downwards and crashed into the ground below with a loud !!THUD!!. She floated down onto the ground again and went over to where the rose that he had stepped on was.  
  
"OH! You didn't kill it! It's just a little bent! Teehee, sorry for sending that little cyclone on you!" she said happily and started to unbend the rose. ::everyone behind the bushes fall down::  
  
"L.L.LITTLE?" yelled Kuwabara. Seiko's head snapped around and spotted the group of people who were hiding behind the bushes.  
  
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Seiko.  
  
"We came looking for you when you disappeared, we thought you might be in trouble when we heard the shriek," said Kurama.  
  
"Hn, that thing you just did.impressive," said Hiei, relieved that Seiko wasn't hurt.  
  
"You guys were worried about me and came looking for me? That's so sweet! How nice!" said Seiko as she ran towards them with her arms outstretched, preparing to hug them. Kuwabara bent down and stretched out his arms, laughing. Seiko just ran past him and hugged Kurama and Hiei together in a tight hug, so tight that even Hiei couldn't think of a way out of it without hurting her so he just decided to stay in the embrace, but he couldn't help the smile that was spreading on his face. He covered it up with his emotionless expression again but not before Seiko saw it. Her face was beaming, her smile growing every second.  
  
"You smiled! You smiled," said Seiko, "didn't he smile Kurama?"  
  
"Haha! Yah, I think he did," said Kurama, chuckling at Hiei's attempt to not smile again.  
  
"Oh! Thank you Genkai for worrying about me, and you too Yuusuke!" said a very cheery Seiko.  
  
"Haha, no need to thank us for that child," said Genkai, also trying to suppress her chuckling.  
  
"Jeez, I hardly know you and I'm already worried about you this much, what's wrong with me?" asked Yuusuke with a sigh.  
  
"Haha! Thank you a million times then Yuusuke!" exclaimed Seiko with a very bright smile. Yuusuke couldn't help but chuckle. Seiko's optimism was so adorable and innocent and her gratitude was heartfelt, she didn't give it to them as compensation for coming to look for her; it was something from the bottom of her heart. She looked like a little child who just got what she wanted for Christmas, she was just so cute! Even Genkai was laughing because of Seiko's infectious optimism.   
  
"What about me?" asked Kuwabara. He was still sulking because she hadn't hugged him, let alone thanked him.  
  
"Huh? Oh, thank you Kuwabara!"  
  
"Then can I have a hug too?" Seiko just looked at him and hugged Kurama and Hiei even tighter. She looked into Hiei's eyes with a gaze that said "do I have to???" A ghost of a smile appeared on Hiei's lips again and was gone before anyone but Seiko and Kurama saw. He gave her a "don't worry, I'll handle it" look and turned to Kuwabara.  
  
"HN, no way am I letting you touch her."  
  
"Yah shrimp? And why not?"  
  
"Because your stupidity might rub off onto her."  
  
"Say what? Well, you're so short that when you sit on the curb of the sidewalk, your feet still dangle over the edge!"  
  
"HNNN? Well you're so stupid that when you and Yuusuke went and bought juice, you just kept staring at the bottle because it said 'concentrate'."  
  
"Well, you're so short that I bet when you lived with your mom, she took one look at you and yelled 'MOUSE'!"  
  
"HN, well, you're so stupid that, if brains were gas, you wouldn't have enough to power a flea-mobile around the inside of a Fruit Loop."  
  
"WHAT? Well you're so short that you could sit on a dime and swing your legs."  
  
"Hn, well you're so stupid that you got hit by a parked car."  
  
"Well you're so short that when it rains, you're always the last to know!"  
  
"HNN, well if shit were music, you'd be an orchestra."  
  
"YOU YOU YOU.THIS ISN'T FAIR! I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO PREPARE ANY INSULTS FOR YOU!!!" wailed Kuwabara.  
  
"Hn? Oh? Would you like some cheese to go with that whine?"  
  
"Well you know what shrimp? If we killed everyone who hated you, it wouldn't be murder, it'd be an apocalypse!"  
  
"HNNNNN? Well, this is really amazing."  
  
"What is?"  
  
"What you are."  
  
"What do you mean by that shrimp?"  
  
"Hn, you're living proof that manure can sprout legs and walk!"  
  
"Y.Y.YOU.LITTLE..."  
  
"Hn.WAIT! SHOULDN'T YOU HAVE A LICENSE?" said Hiei, widening his eyes in panick.  
  
"Huh? For what?"  
  
"For being that ugly of course!" said Hiei with a smirk.  
  
"You..."  
  
"Hn, ya, ya, keep talking, maybe someday you'll say something intelligent, though it might not really be guaranteed for you."  
  
"You know what Hiei? You're a habit I'd like to kick.with both feet!" said Kuwabara as he swung his leg, trying to trip Hiei but Hiei merely dodged it and leapt next to the kitsune who was looked like he was never going to stop shaking from laughing so hard. His face wasn't a few shades lighter than his hair anymore; in fact, it was EXACTLY the same color as his hair now. His legs got weak and he collapsed onto the ground, laughing all the while. Yuusuke and Genkai were already on the floor laughing up a storm.  
  
"We'd better get back.Yukina must be worried about you!" said Kurama.  
  
"Yukina was also worried about me?" asked Seiko.  
  
"Hn, of course she was, we ALL were," said Hiei. Seiko gave Kurama and Hiei another squeeze and finally let them go. When they arrived back to Genkai's temple, Yukina ran up to Seiko and checked for any injuries.  
  
"Don't worry Yukina, I'm fine!" said Seiko.  
  
"Are you sure? I was so worried!" said Yukina.  
  
"You were worried about me? I'm sorry for making you worry then.but thank you for worrying, it makes my heart warm to know that you cared," said Seiko. Yukina blushed.  
  
"You.you don't need to thank me, there's nothing to thank me about," Yukina stammered. Seiko's face looked so.so.full of pure joy, happiness. She was indeed really beautiful and cute. If Seiko had said that with the same expression on her face to everyone, they'd all blush too because Seiko's beauty and charm affected everyone, males AND females. She's a lot like Kurama, thought Yukina, everyone can fall for them, not just their opposite sex.  
  
"Hmm, we'll need get you into another change of clothing, you can't walk around or go to Koenma in that, it attracts too much attention and I think it's too valuable to risk tearing," said Genkai as she examined Seiko's dress and shoes.  
  
"We'll take her shopping then, she can borrow some of my clothes when we go out," suggested Kurama. Hiei groaned.  
  
"Do we HAVE to go shopping? The last time we went, we were out for 4 fuckin hours!" said Hiei.  
  
"Hiei! Watch your language!" said Kurama.  
  
"Hn, sorry."  
  
"Ok, I guess that's a good idea, we'll meet you at your house in what, 4 hours? Then we'll all go to Koema, ok?" asked Yuusuke.  
  
"All right, see you there," said Kurama 


	6. Shop shop shopping!

Ch.6  
  
After 15 minutes of getting ready, Kurama, Hiei, and Seiko are finally seen walking towards the outdoor mall. Hiei was wearing the ningen clothes that Kurama had picked out for him. Normally, he hated wearing ningen clothes, but he had to admit that the fox had taste.  
  
~~Flashback~~ Kurama chose a pair of baggy black jeans for Hiei to wear, along with a dark red tank top. The fox said something about it bringing out the color of his eyes. To keep people from asking what was wrong with his eyes because of the color, Kurama had boughten Hiei a pair of black sunglasses, which by the way, made Hiei look really hot. The ward on Hiei's forehead had caused a small argument. Hiei and Kurama had previously taken 5 minutes just to argue about the damn thing. They'd finally come to a compromise. Hiei gets to wear the ward if he left his katana at home. Hiei wasn't all that happy about it but he finally agreed, on ONE condition.  
  
He gets to choose what Kurama wears.  
  
Kurama laughed a little about it but agreed. Hiei surprised him when he showed the kitsune what his outfit would be. White pants that were just a little bit baggy (not as baggy as Hiei's) and a silk dark green button up shirt.  
  
Now, about how they chose Seiko's outfit...well...they didn't. Seiko had gotten a kick out of watching Kurama and Hiei choose each other's outfits but when Kurama was about to walk into his closet to find some clothes for her, she jumped from her perch on his bed and jumped onto his back, which had caused him to stumble and eventually, fall down face first onto his carpet floor.  
  
Hiei blinked once...then twice...the corners of his mouth twitched...he calmly walked over to Kurama's bed and buried his face into the pillow. Then, he started shaking violently, kicking his feet up in the air. Kurama propped himself up on his elbows and narrowed his eyes at Hiei and huffed. Seiko was still on his back and just sat there, staring at the closet.  
  
"It's not THAT funny, Hiei," said Kurama. Hiei stopped kicking his feet and turned up to look over at his fox.  
  
"Hn, sorry but...phff...BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Hiei started laughing again at the sight of Seiko still on Kurama's back and tugging at his hair.  
  
"Ouch! Why are you pulling my hair and why did you knock me over?" asked Kurama. Seiko looked down at his face and smiled shyly.  
  
"Umm...can I choose something for myself? Can I? Can I?" asked Seiko.  
  
"Of course you can, as long as you get off my back," said Kurama. Seiko's eyes lightened up and her grin turned into a full blown smile.  
  
"You...you...you mean it???" asked Seiko as she jumped off his back and hopped over to his closet. Soon, she disappeared and could be heard shuffling though the clothes.  
  
"Hn...do you have anything that'll fit her, fox? After all, you ARE a bit taller, not to mention the fact you're a guy too," Hiei said.  
  
"I think I have some things...I haven't cleaned out my closet yet so the clothes that don't fit me anymore should still be in there," said Kurama. Suddenly, Seiko's head popped out of the closet and had another shy smile on it.  
  
"Umm...Hiei...can I ask you for a favor...?" asked Seiko, she had her eyes glued to the floor and was moving her foot in a small circle on it. Hiei looked at her with thoughtful eyes and then nodded his head.  
  
"Can I...borrow...your white belts...?" asked Seiko. Hiei blinked. Kurama blinked. When both boys didn't move, Seiko started to back up into the closet again, afraid that they'll shout out "ARE YOU CRAZY? NO!"  
  
".......hn...," was all Hiei said before he went over to his own pants and took out his two belts from the loops and tossed then to her. She caught them and looked up with shocked eyes.  
  
"OH THANK YOU HIEI-CHAN!" exclaimed Seiko as she ran and hugged him and disappeared behind the bathroom door to change.  
  
"Phfft...Hiei-chan...hehehe, if someone else besides me or Seiko called you that....I'm sure I'd get to see the Kokuryuuha," teased Kurama.  
  
"Hn, shut up fox," said Hiei. His eyes soon turned to the bathroom door when they heard a creaking sound.  
  
"Promise you guys won't laugh?" asked Seiko.  
  
"We promise."  
  
Soon, Seiko stepped out, wearing a pair of dark blue jeans held up with one of Hiei's belts. Right below the belt was the other one, which was resting loosely on her hips. She had on a light blue tank top under a white button up shirt that she left unbuttoned. She looked so cute!  
  
"You look so cute Seiko!" exclaimed Kurama, his emerald eyes sparkling with approval. Hiei nodded his head in approval.  
  
"Hn, so we don't really have to go shopping, we could just use Kurama's clothes for you," said Hiei. Kurama ignored Hiei's comment and started wondering how he was going to get Seiko some shoes that she could fit in. Her feet weren't small but they were definitely smaller than Kurama's. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He ran out the door yelling his mother's name.  
  
"Mother! Mother! MOTHER! KASAAN!!!!!!"  
  
"My goodness, what's wrong Shuuichi?" asked Shiori as she came running out of the kitchen downstairs.  
  
"Can I borrow your pair of white tennis shoes?" Shiori sighed with relief.  
  
"Is that all? I thought you were hurt! Sure, but aren't they too small for you?" asked Shiori.  
  
"Well, yes, but I have a friend over and she kind of lost her shoes somehow."  
  
"Well, ok, hmmm...a girl? Someone I should meet perhaps?" asked Shiori with mischief in her eyes.  
  
"No mother! She's just a good friend! I'm not dating her!"  
  
"Oh...what a shame...alright then, the shoes are in the hallway cabinet."  
  
"Thank you kasaan!" said Kurama and raced down the hallway. Soon, he went back up into his room to give Seiko the shoes but stopped dead in his tracks once he opened the door. He doubled over with laughter at what he saw. Hiei was sitting on the floor with one knee propped up and the other leg was laying out straight. He was leaning back on Kurama's bed and was polishing his katana. Seiko was on the bed, kneeling over so she was right above Hiei. The blanket she was kneeling on was scattered with blue, red, pink, yellow, and white ribbons. She was busy braiding strands of Hiei's hair while he continued to polish his katana, as if he didn't even know she was there. His hair was already filled with a couple braids and lots of colorful bows. The braids didn't stay down and stuck up just like his usual gravity defying hair. Hiei looked up from what he was doing with a hint of confusion in his eyes.  
  
"What the hell are you laughing at fox?"  
  
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....ok...::gasp::...let me try to....::gasp::....I can't! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"Y....hahahahahaha,.....your....."  
  
"My....what?"  
  
"HAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"  
  
"What ABOUT my hair?"  
  
Kurama couldn't stop laughing so he ran into the bathroom and came back, handing Hiei a small hand mirror. Hiei looked at it and blinked.  
  
"HNNNN...."  
  
Uh oh, Kurama thought, is he going to kill Seiko???  
  
"...don't you have any BLACK ribbons???" complained Hiei. ::Kurama sweat drops::  
  
"Oh no! Kurama, are you alright?" asked Seiko as she quickly hopped off the bed and went over to Kurama to help him up.  
  
"I'm...I'm fine...," Kurama said as he continued to stare at Hiei with wide eyes as Hiei continued to tug off the colorful ribbons. 


	7. Wounded Rose

Ch. 7  
  
Soon after shopping, Seiko, Hiei, and Kurama go back home to meet with Yuusuke and Kuwabara. When Kurama was about to take his keys out, he saw a note taped to his door. After staring at it for a second, he turned around and started walking away from his house.  
  
"Yuusuke wants us to meet at Genkai's temple, he says she only gave him a few minutes off from his training to put that note there," informed Kurama.  
  
"Hn," said Hiei and started walking up to Kurama.  
  
"Yuusuke's the guy in green with the slicked back hair ri..." Seiko suddenly stopped running up to them and yelled in pain, causing Kurama and Hiei to whirl around and check the area for any other youkai.  
  
"Hn, why'd you scream girl? There's nothing around here," said Hiei when he couldn't sense any other youki near them. He turned around to look at Seiko and his eyes widened when he saw that she was leaning against a tree, gritting her teeth, blood leaking through her hands that were covering the wound on her shoulder, and sweating.  
  
"Hold still Seiko!" yelled Kurama as he ran and knelt down next to her and started pulling seeds out of his hair, making them grow, and grinding some of them together with his hands.  
  
"Hn, we should get her to Genkai, fast!" said Hiei. He lifted Seiko up and looked at Kurama for approval. Kurama nodded and they both ran towards Genkai's temple as fast as they could. Surprisingly, Kurama kept up with Hiei's god-like speed quite well. As they ran, Kurama kept wondering what in all three worlds could have possible hurt Seiko. He glanced at Hiei, who had Seiko on his back, and turned his attention back to running. They soon arrived at Genkai's temple.  
  
"Yukina! Genkai! Somebody!" yelled Kurama as he ran past Hiei to search around for their friends.  
  
"What is it boy?" asked Genkai as she rubbed her aching ears. She had been standing right behind a pillar that was right in front of the gate that Kurama was at.  
  
"Kurama? Hiei? What are you two doing here?" asked Yukina, her voice as sweet and calm as ever.  
  
"It's Seiko! She's hurt! Can you help her?" asked Kurama and Hiei in unison.  
  
"Quick, bring her inside and put her on the blue mat in one of the guest rooms!" said Yukina as she ran back towards another door to get some bandages and medicines. Hiei quickly ran, carrying Seiko on his back, closely followed by Kurama, to the room that Yukina had pointed out.  
  
Soon after they got Seiko in a comfortable position on the mat, Yukina came running in with her arms full of medical things and her kimono flapping around. She knelt beside Seiko and started checking her over.  
  
"........," Yukina's eyes suddenly narrowed as she bent down to inspect Seiko's shoulder more carefully.  
  
"She...she's not hurt...well, of course she was...but now...she sort of...healed! You can see the blood that was leaking out but now...there's nothing!" exclaimed Yukina. Kurama and Hiei knelt down beside her and looked at Seiko's shoulder as well.  
  
"If she's already healed somehow...how come she's still pale and shaking?" asked Kurama.  
  
"I don't know, what caused the injury? Maybe it was poisoned," suggested Yukina.  
  
"We didn't see anything hit or cut Seiko, she just just suddenly got hurt," said Kurama.  
  
"D...d...d...d...da...da..." stuttered Seiko.  
  
"Hn, what is it?" asked Hiei, trying to hide the fact he cared but obviously failing.  
  
"D..ddd...dddaa..damn i...i..it!" stuttered Seiko through clenched teeth.  
  
Just then, Genkai came into the room to see how they were doing.  
  
"What's going on in here?" asked Genkai.  
  
"Oh Genkai! Seiko-san seems to have healed her physical wound by herself but something's still wrong with her and I can't help her!" said Yukina as many of her tear gems could be heard dropping onto the floor.  
  
"Then whatever hurt her must have been poisoned," said Genkai a-matter-of factly.  
  
"That's what I thought but Kurama and Hiei said they didn't see anything hurt Seiko!" said Yukina.  
  
"That's odd...," said Genkai. She walked over to Seiko and knelt down. She examined the shoulder that was hurt before. Her eyes narrowed and then grew wide.  
  
"Stand back! Hiei, quickly get me a bowl and hot water, Yukina, get some honey from the jar next door, and Kurama, I need you to grow me a few plants," ordered Genkai as she folded up her sleeves. When everything was ready, she ground and mixed the plants that Kurama grew, put them into the bowl of hot water and mixed, making a very thin milky paste. She added the honey to sweeten the bitter smelling syrup. She went over and put Seiko's head in her lap and tilted her chin up. She placed the bowl to Seiko's lips.  
  
"Here, drink this...," whispered Genkai, her eyes softening. Seiko looked at Genkai through her pain filled eyes and started to sip the syrup. Gradually, she stopped shaking and writhing in pain. Kurama and Hiei's eyes widened and were right next to Seiko within an instant.  
  
"Seiko!Howareyoufeelingareyouok?" asked Kurama in a slur of words.  
  
"Heh...ya...I'm ok...I just need...some sleep...ZzZz..." Seiko's eyelids dropped and soon she was sleeping in Genkai's lap.  
  
Both Kurama and Hiei sighed with relief. Yukina smiled and started picking up her tear gems. Genkai was staring at Seiko's sleeping form and started stroking Seiko's hair. Somewhere along the way, Seiko's braid had come undone and her hair was now fanned out everywhere. Kurama and Hiei stared, hypnotized by the rhythm of Genkai's strokes. Kurama finally snapped back to reality and had a puzzled look on his face.  
  
"Genkai...did you know Seiko?" asked Kurama.  
  
"...yes...I did," Genkai said in such a soft voice that Kurama had to lean closer to hear it.  
  
"How?"  
  
"I've known her since she was born, I knew her father, and I knew her birthplace, I remember all of it," whispered Genkai. Kurama's eyes widened.  
  
"You know her parents??? Great! You can help us find them! She'll be so happy when we tell her! So who's her mother? Someone I know? Is her mother a youkai also? I'm only assuming, because Seiko somehow managed to heal herself so..." Kurama let his sentence trail.  
  
"Idiot! I'M her mother!" snapped Genkai. Kurama's eyes widened and his mouth dropped. Hiei had snapped out of his trance a while ago and had his mouth dropped as well.  
  
"WHAT?" yelled Kurama and Hiei at the same time. Suddenly, Seiko started to stir. Her eyelids fluttered open and she stared up at Genkai through sapphire eyes.  
  
"Thank you for helping me...do I know you? I think I've seen you somewhere before but...I can't...remember," said Seiko as she continued to stare at Genkai's brown eyes.  
  
"Yes, you know me, it'll come back to you eventually, but until then, I insist you stay here at the temple for as long as you want," said Genkai.  
  
"Hiei, can I see your katana for a minute?" asked Seiko suddenly. Hiei unsheathed his katana and handed it to her with a questioning look. She gathered her hair into a low ponytail and held it together just a little below the bottom of her waist. Then, with a skillful hand, she hacked off all the hair below her hand, so that now her ankle long hair was only waist long.  
  
"Much better!" chirped Seiko. She gathered up all her cut hair and turned to Hiei.  
  
"Can you make a fire?"  
  
"Hn, of course, but why?"  
  
"Please just do it?"  
  
"Beg!"  
  
"YOU beg!"  
  
"No! I don't have to! I can make it if I want!"  
  
"Prove it! I bet you're not really a fire demon anyway!"  
  
"HNN? WHAT? I'LL SHOW YOU!"  
  
Suddenly, a dark flame appeared on Hiei's hand. Seiko ran up to Hiei and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Thanks for the fire! ^o^"  
  
"...Kurama...did...she...just trick...ME?"  
  
"It would seem so!" said Kurama with a very amused look. If he were in his fox form, his tail would be swishing from side to side with enthusiasm. Genkai chuckled to herself. Seiko ignored them and held some of her cut hair over the fire and started chanting.  
  
Fire that gives warmth yet with a chill Help me seek what I need to find, Fire that is summoned to kill Help me become unblind, Let me remember what I have lost.  
  
She let go of the hair and the fire in Hiei's hand crackled and sparked, emitting blue, green, red, and black rays of light here and there. The rays of light swathed together and created a blurry for of a small angel. The angel ran towards Seiko's face and disappeared into her head. Suddenly, Seiko gasped and dropped in a dead faint. 


	8. Seiko wakes up!

WhEw! Sorry I didn't update sooner, school's kept me busy, ^o^ I hope you guys like this chapter! I'll try to update sooner since I'm on my school's golf team, I have after school matches, so bear with me! ^_^  
  
Chapter 8  
  
When Seiko came to, she was on a small cot in one of Genkai's rooms. It was around 8 AM and the sun was shining through her window. She got up and washed her face with the water from the water basin nearby. She changed into the forest green tunic and white silky pants that she found nearby. She tied the tunic with a dark red sash around her waist and stepped out of the room. She cautiously looked around, somehow feeling familiar with the surroundings. She finally found her way outside and closed her eyes for a minute. When everything was quiet, she could hear the faint sound of swords clashing somewhere in the distance. She slipped on the dark green shoes (Chinese slippers) that she had found near the tunic and ran in the sound's direction. She soon came to a clearing where Hiei was practicing with his katana on Kurama, who used what looked like a green leaf sword? When Hiei was in mid-air, he froze and landed back down on his feet with cat-like agility and turned in Seiko's direction. Kurama, who had jumped up into the air to avoid Hiei's attack, somersaulted forward and also looked in Seiko's direction.  
  
"Who's there?" asked Hiei bluntly as he got into a defensive position. Kurama also got into a crouched position.  
  
"It's umm...me...," said Seiko nervously as she stepped into the clearing.  
  
"KAWAIIIII!" exclaimed Kurama as he turned into chibi form and bounced onto Seiko.  
  
"THAT OUTFIT LOOKS SO CUTE ON YOU! KAWAIIIII!" exclaimed Kurama on a blushing Seiko.  
  
"Hn, Kurama, get a hold of yourself! Are you feeling better now Seiko?" asked Hiei with a small hint of worry.  
  
"I'm fine, hehe," said Seiko as she patted chibi-Kurama on his head.  
  
"Yo, Kurama! Hiei!" yelled Yuusuke as he appeared from a cluster of trees.  
  
"Why, hello Yuusuke, when'd you get here?" asked Kurama.  
  
"Just a while ago.I came to tell you Genkai said to get back there in 30 minutes to train with her. BOTH of you guys. Oh ya, and on my way over to Genkai's, I heard the funniest thing about you!" said Yuusuke with a snicker. Kurama's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  
  
"I was on my way over and I passed by these girls that go to your school, they were sayin 'Did you see Minamino-kun today? He has such a great butt! It's so perfect and round!'" recited Yuusuke before bursting into a fit of giggles. Kurama's eyes widened as a blush started to spread on his face. He looked over at Hiei, expecting him to get overly jealous, but to his surprise, Hiei was calmly watching Yuusuke laugh.  
  
"Hiei...it doesn't bother you?"  
  
"Hn, what doesn't?"  
  
"Girls talking about my butt..."  
  
"Of course not, why should I be?"  
  
"I don't know, I just thought you would be jealous."  
  
"Hn! That shows just about how much you know, plus." said Hiei as he suddenly reached behind the kitsune and slapped his butt, "it's just talk, this ass is already mine!"  
  
Yuusuke's mouth dropped all the way down to the ground as Kurama's face became redder than a tomato.  
  
"You.you mean you guys.are.you.with each other???" stuttered Yuusuke.  
  
"Hn, if you want to ask us something, stop stuttering," said Hiei. "Oh, umm, so you too." started Yuusuke.  
  
"NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!" Hiei yelled into Yuusuke's ear.  
  
"Why you." said Yuusuke as he tackled Hiei and started wrestling with him. Kurama got tired of watching the dust rise and turned his attention to Seiko. She was sitting on a tree trunk not far away and staring up at the sky with a distant look on her face, as if she were in deep thought.  
  
"Mind if I join you?" asked Kurama. Seiko snapped out of her trance and looked startled to see him.  
  
"Umm, sure, go ahead," said Seiko.  
  
"So what were you thinking about?" asked Kurama.  
  
"Well, it's just that.that woman.Genkai? She seems so familiar.something about her.arggg, the last few things I remember before being in the crystal rose are just bits and pieces. I remember something about finding my mother, something about power, and something about a guy.to stop a guy named.," said Seiko, holding her head with both her hands the whole time. Kurama leaned closer to her.  
  
"Who is it? Is he going to hurt Genkai?" asked Kurama.  
  
"I.I don't remember, it's all just bits and pieces," whispered Seiko. She stared at the ground with both hands on her head when suddenly her head snapped up and she looked at Kurama with wide eyes. Then, she took off the necklace she wore that was concealed by her tunic and showed it to him. A gold disc the size of a half dollar with engravings on it was hanging from a very thin gold chain. Kurama looked closer at the engravings. It turned out to be a picture of a kitsune sleeping in a rose, surrounded by 5 different colored gems that formed a star-shape border around it. The gems were blue, red, green, clear, and black. In the middle of the kitsune was a yellow gem. As he tilted the disc a bit each time, the kitsune seemed to move and come to life.  
  
"It's beautiful!" said Kurama in awe.  
  
"I know, but that's not what I'm excited about! I remember something! This disc is part of a set! My mother should have one too!" said Seiko.  
  
"Really?" said Kurama, pretending he didn't already know who Seiko's mother was.  
  
"Hey! Let's go find Hiei-chan! I want him to roast a marshmallow for me!"  
  
"Ok then, let's go.wait you know what a marshmallow is?"  
  
"Ya! Yuusuke gave me a bag and said to put them over a fire and then eat them! ^o^"  
  
"Haha, ok then, let's go! I'll race you," said Kurama. Too late, when he turned around to face Seiko, she was already way ahead of him with a grin on her face and yelling, "HIEI! HIIIIIEI! HIEIIII! HIEEEEIIIII! HIEI! HIEI! HILLY! HIGHER! HIPPY! HIPPO! HOODLUM! HAIRY!"  
  
Hiei's face suddenly appeared in front of Seiko when she passed under a tree.  
  
"EEEEEEEKKKKK!" screamed Seiko. Hiei was upside down, his red eyes glaring at Seiko and his legs wrapped around a tree branch.  
  
"HN! What the hell do you want and who's Hippo? Or Hoodlum? Or Hippy? Or Hairy?" growled Hiei.  
  
"0_0 Hiei??? Why'd you do that? You scared me!" said Seiko.  
  
"Ehem.you can get off my face now." said Kurama. Seiko had gotten so scared when Hiei suddenly appeared, that she had jumped on Kurama's face and stayed there.  
  
"Oh, sorry Kurama! ^_^;;" said Seiko.  
  
"::Snort:: What did you want?" asked Hiei. Seiko's eyes brightened as she remembered what her previous task was.  
  
"Marshmallow!" she exclaimed. Hiei lost his grip on the branch and landed with a "thud" as his head hit the ground first.  
  
"N-Nani?" said Hiei.  
  
"Ya! I want you to help me roast a marshmallow! ^o^ Please?" asked Seiko.  
  
"HN, DAMN THAT YUUSUKE! FIRST HE GIVES THAT STUFF TO MY SISTER AND NOW YOU???" yelled Hiei. Kurama pinched Hiei's ear.  
  
"Hmph! If I recall correctly, I believe that YOU love marshmallows as well!" said Kurama.  
  
"::Snort:: You have no proof," said Hiei as he turned his head and tried to act innocent. Kurama's eyebrow twitched.  
  
"My marshmallow." said Seiko.  
  
"Ok, ok, I'll do it," said Hiei with a sigh of defeat. As he was roasting the marshmallow, Seiko was almost drooling on his hand. Suddenly, Seiko's eyes turned sharply towards Genkai's temple and narrowed dangerously.  
  
"What's wrong Seiko?" asked Kurama.  
  
"Mother." mumbled Seiko.  
  
"Nani?" asked Hiei.  
  
"MOTHER!" yelled Seiko as she dashed off in the direction of the temple.  
  
"How could she know.?" asked Kurama.  
  
"Hn, I don't know, but I think we should go after her," said Hiei.  
  
"Ya, I think you're right, let's go!" said Kurama as both he and Hiei started to sprint after Seiko. 


	9. Riuu attacks Genkai and others on his se...

Yay! I finished this chapter! I think I have 2 more chapters to go, -_-;;; but anyways, here you go! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ch. 9  
  
As Seiko, Kurama, and Hiei approached Genkai's temple, they could all feel the aura of a very strong youkai. Hiei and Kurama both sped up and got ahead of Seiko, incase the youkai were to come out suddenly and dash towards her. They screeched to a halt, Kurama took out his rose whip and Hiei took out his katana. Seiko tried to push past them but they held her back with their free hands. This didn't please Seiko at all. She yelled out a jumble of words and started hitting them with her fists, telling them to let her through.  
  
"LET ME THROUGH! MOTHER, MOTHER, MOTHER!" screamed Seiko. Sweat could be seen coming down her face but she continued the assault.  
  
"No! Stay back Seiko! It could be dangerous, we don't know where or what the aura is coming from!" said Kurama as he tried to calm her down.  
  
Suddenly, Seiko's medallion started to glow. Her eyes started to change to silver and then back to her original color. Kurama stared into her eyes. At first, he saw her normal color, dark blue, but then he saw a flash of silver. This happened a few times until her eyes started to stay silver longer than before. Her hair suddenly came undone from its bind and whipped around in the wind that was coming from Seiko. The raven black hair with different shades of red that Kurama had come to admire, suddenly became a mass of swirling reddish gold. The red streaks seemed to become redder than they were before. Her head looked like it was being set aflame by the fire that makes up the sun. Kurama gaped in awe at her and behind him, Hiei also had his mouth 4 inches from the ground.  
  
"Where is my mother?" asked Seiko, but her voice had changed. Instead of the gentle, sweet sound that sounded like little silver bells tinkling was a voice that sounded far superior, with more knowledge hidden behind it and every word came out with a wave of sensuality.  
  
"S.Seiko?" asked Kurama hesitantly. Seiko opened her mouth to answer but suddenly they heard a loud boom! Seiko turned sharply and ran towards the source of the sound. Kurama and Hiei looked at each other.  
  
"Here we go again.-_-," said Hiei. Kurama smacked Hiei on the head for being so insensitive and started running after Seiko. Hiei sighed and ran after Kurama.  
  
When Seiko finished running up the steps of the temple, everything seemed ok. She looked from side to side but nothing seemed wrong. Her medallion pulsed and tugged her neck in the direction of the training grounds that Genkai usually used to train Yuusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama. She rounded the corner and stopped in her tracks. There on the floor was a very beaten up Genkai, alongside her was an exhausted and equally beaten up Yuusuke. A little farther away was Kuwabara, who had cuts and nasty gnashes all over his body. His blue uniform was all torn and stained with blood. Under him was Yukina, trembling with fright, but not hurt. Seiko turned her head to look at who had done this. There, stood a man.no, a youkai, who was laughing at Yuusuke's struggle to get up. He was maybe 7 feet tall, with muscles that rippled throughout his whole body. His skin was a tan color and his hair was dark blue. His eyes were a yellowish green. His features resembled a human's, except that he had razor sharp long claws instead of hands.  
  
"Foolish ningen, why try to get up? You'll only fall back down; save your energy, I wouldn't want you to die before I kill you myself, now would I?" said the youkai as he lunged forward with his sharp claws aimed for Yuusuke's face. He was suddenly thrown back by a forceful gust of wind.  
  
"What was that?" asked the youkai.  
  
"That would be me, did YOU hurt my mother?" asked Seiko as her silver eyes narrowed. The glare sent fear through the youkai's body, causing him to shudder.  
  
"Who are you and why did you come here?" asked Seiko, her voice still as cold as ice.  
  
"My name's Riuu and I'm here to kill the Elemental and its mother," answered Riuu.  
  
"The.elemental? What's.that?" Yuusuke managed to ask. Riuu gave a roar of laughter.  
  
"You people really don't know what the Elemental is??? I thought you were the Reikai Tentai! Fine! I'll tell you. Legend says that a child was born to a very strong ningen woman, a very unique person. She's mortal but possesses more spirit energy than anybody could ever possibly wish to have. The father of the child is a lord, the ruler of a realm that hasn't been found yet. As of now, 4 realms exist, the Reikai, the Ningenkai, the Makai, and the Netherworld. Well, there's actually ANOTHER realm that exists, but no one has been able to find it, let alone get into it. Anyway, the lord of the realm is said to be extremely powerful and comes from a long line of powerful yet different kinds of youkai. Somehow or another, the two met by chance and the woman became pregnant. The child she gave birth to is the Elemental. It has complete control of all the elements, plus many other powers as well. Such power, must be destroyed! If it were to choose a path of good, it could destroy all evil, it could do it in less than an hour! THAT'S why it must be eliminated!" said Riuu with a growl.  
  
"Then why are you attacking US???" asked Kurama as he emerged from behind a group of trees, followed closely by Hiei.  
  
"That would be because I believe THIS woman right here is the Elemental's mother!" said Riuu.  
  
"0_0" was everyone's expression.  
  
"NANI? That's impossible! Genkai's never been married, let alone had a child! Oh wait, except for Seiko that is." said Kurama.  
  
"Then she's lying. She HAS to be the Elemental's mother, nobody else in this damned world could be!" exclaimed Riuu.  
  
"Shut the hell up you ugly piece of low-life scum, that's my mother you're talking about," said Seiko.  
  
"Keep out of this girl, it doesn't involve you," said Riuu.  
  
"Hn, that's where you're wrong dirt bag, this involves her VERY much," said Genkai as she tried to heal some of her wounds. A medallion under her tunic pulsed and pulled her neck forward, towards Seiko. Seiko's medallion did the same.  
  
"M-mother!" exclaimed Seiko as she ran to Genkai's side and took out her medallion. Genkai pulled her medallion from under her tunic as well. The medallions pulsed and glowed a light blue.  
  
"Don't worry mother, I won't let him hurt you, trust me," said Seiko. Then, she turned around to Riuu.  
  
"I'm gonna make you pay, for hurting Yuusuke and Kuwabara, for scaring Yukina, and for hurting my mother!" Yelled Seiko. 


	10. Before Seiko vs Riuu, everyone hears Gen...

Hey Hey everybody! ^o^ Thanx for the reviews! Especially Raye Yuy()'s! ^_^ I'm so happy! Here's the next chapter! Sorry I took so long to get it up, hehe! Send more reviews ppl! I'm not sure if I should finish this fic.I think if I get 3 reviews on this chapter, I'll finish it but if I don't get any . lol p.s. I know some of the characters are OOC =P hehe. Oh ya, and Seiko, Riuu, and Kaji are three characters I made up ^o^ like them?  
  
"YOU'RE going to make ME pay?" said Riuu and started roaring with laughter. Seiko sent him a death glare which ripped through him like a knife.  
  
"Who ARE you child?" asked Riuu as he tried to recover from the glare which should have been harmless, but it left him shaking a bit.  
  
"My name is Seiko, Genkai's daughter," said Seiko, "but then, I think you know that already don't you?"  
  
Seiko took a step towards Riuu. Riuu was forced to take stumble backwards as he felt a wave of power pushing against him with every step she took. Riuu's eyes widened with realization.  
  
"You .you COULDN'T be .YOU'RE the Elemental?" stammered Riuu. Seiko couldn't help but laugh at how long it took him to realize this.  
  
"Why, yes I am!" said Seiko. Riuu turned to look at Genkai to see if what Seiko said was true. Genkai nodded.  
  
"Seiko was the only child I ever had. I had her a few years after the Tournament that I had entered with Toguro. I was so mad at Toguro for asking to be made into a youkai .so that he could never become old and have unmatchable power. I decided to train in the Makai for a while to blow off some steam. It was there that I met Kaji," Genkai paused to take a breath. She looked up at Riuu.  
  
"You were right about the legends. He was a very powerful youkai," said Genkai. Riuu looked a bit more interested than frightened.  
  
"Was? You mean he's now dead?" asked Riuu. Genkai shook her head, her pale pink hair waving side to side.  
  
"He is very much alive, but I don't know how he is now. When we were together, we loved each other very much and when we found out I was pregnant, we couldn't have been happier! Unfortunately, others who were envious of Kaji's power teamed up with his enemies and tried to find a way to hurt him through me. Since I'm a ningen, I can't heal myself when I'm hurt, but since I'm powerful and am a master of martial arts, it was never a problem. But since Seiko was in me, I had two lives to protect and that was getting increasingly difficult because of the side-effects of being pregnant. Knowing that Seiko and I were Kaji's weakness, his enemies and enviers continued to try to hurt me or take me hostage. Kaji and I both knew that I couldn't stay with him anymore even though it would hurt us both to be apart," Genkai paused again to take a breath. Seiko was still glaring at Riuu but was also listening to the tale of her birth and mentally grew sad that she was the reason that her mother and father had to stay apart. She turned to glance at Genkai shyly when Genkai had stopped to take a breath and noticed that a tear fell from Genkai's age-worn face.  
  
"The night we decided that I should go back to the Ningenkai to be safe, Kaji escorted me to the portal. I remember the walk like it was just yesterday. I was wearing a red silk tunic and pants, tied around my waist was a white sash, and my hair was tied in a low ponytail. I don't think anyone here knows what Kaji looks like so let me describe him. He had long pitch black hair with dark blue side locks and his eyes were silver. At least, that's what colors they usually were. He could change the colors whenever he wished but he never did. However, when his emotions become very strong, the colors change automatically; that made him kinda cute actually, I could always tell what he's feeling and if he was ready to surprise me. His features were ningen-like even though he was a youkai," Genkai closed her eyes as she remembered her itooshi and mentally added that her heart was still with him.  
  
"Anyway, as we got close to the portal, we were attacked. He defended me and himself perfectly since I started to feel nauseated and dizzy so I couldn't fight. However, one of the youkais got past him and punched me in the stomach. Kaji was furious and I didn't need to see him to know that. The temperature got incredibly high around us and when I glanced back at him, he had grown 6 feet in height, his hair had many streaks of red in it, his eyes were blood red, and his skin was a reddish hue. I coughed and doubled over and was coughing up blood. From the corner of my eye, I could see Kaji's eyes widen with worry as well as anger. He charged towards the youkai that punched me and with a flick of his wrist, the youkai was burning in a swirl of black and red flames. Kaji's rage triggered one of his most powerful attacks. Soon, all the youkais were burned to nothing as a wave of fire came over them and disappeared as quickly as it had come. When Kaji looked back at me, his anger left and he changed back into his normal form. I was still coughing up blood," Genkai paused yet again as she reveled in the memory that she had kept hidden in her mind.  
  
"Seiko was dying inside of me .the youkai had packed THAT much of a punch. Kaji and I both tried feeding our ki to her, hoping that we could sustain her until we could somehow find a way to get her normal again. Behind us, Enma came through a portal of his own. We knew something was up because having Enma visit anyone at all was a rarity in itself. I'll never forget what he said .,"said Genkai as more tears rolled down her face.  
  
Seiko's energy had burst forth and her ki was swirling dangerously around her, but she kept quiet as she listened to the tale of her birth. She never took her eyes off Riuu, who was gathering up his youkai in preparation for his battle with Seiko but he also kept quiet as Genkai told her story.  
  
"He said . 'This child you have in you must die, she can't be allowed to live .,'" whispered Genkai.  
  
Yuusuke had been listening to the story as well and had recovered a bit from the attack.  
  
"What do you mean? Why'd he say she can't be allowed to live?" asked Yuusuke.  
  
"Hn, for once, I agree with Yuusuke, what the fuck did Enma have against Seiko?" asked Hiei.  
  
"Hiei! Watch your language, and I agree with you as well. Why was Enma so willing to let her die?" asked Kurama.  
  
"Will you guys shut up and let me finish?" Genkai said sarcastically.  
  
"v_v sorry ...," said everyone.  
  
"So anyway, Kaji and I couldn't believe what we just heard. He kneeled down and embraced me protectively. Everyone in his realm could feel his ki roaring and increasing, protectively incasing us. Even Enma had to step back. Kaji said, 'What the hell are you saying? This is OUR child and we will NOT let it die! If you want its soul, you'll have to get through ME first!' Kaji's ki was swirling dangerously around us, if something were to touch his aura, they'd be burned, frozen, drowned, or smashed to death. That's what Seiko has most of her power from. Kaji could control every element you can think of. Water, air, wind, earth, light, darkness, fire, life, death, ice, etc. Enma hadn't wanted Seiko to live because he feared her power. Kaji's power alone was dangerous enough as it was but if you add my abilities with them as well .the amount of power created is just unthinkable. Enma didn't want such a power to exist. He knew it could destroy all the worlds and even the universe. But have any of you ever tried to take a cub from its parents? That's like committing suicide don't you agree?" asked Genkai with a smirk.  
  
Everyone nodded, especially Kuwabara who remembered a time he went to the zoo and had been near the lion habitat. He had seen the cubs and wanted to play with them. Unfortunately, he forgot about the parents and ended up running for his life the rest of the day.  
  
"Good, because that's exactly what Enma was trying to do. He was trying to take Seiko away from us, but we wouldn't give up without a fight. Seiko's powers are extraordinary but you have to remember, she INHERITED that power, and WHO did she inherit such powers from? Kaji and I were powerful enough to continue feeding youkai to her and to get ready to attack as well. I won't tell you about the fight but I'll tell you what happened after. Kaji and Enma were going at it head to head since I had to concentrate more on keeping Seiko alive than on fighting. I used a huge amount of ki and created a barrier that went around Kaji and me, keeping Enma outside and from seeing us. Kaji and I knew we had to do something so he started chanting and placed a hand on my stomach. There was a blinding blue flash of light and when it was gone, Kaji was holding a beautiful crystal rose. He looked tired and I knew what he had done must have taken a lot of energy. He looked up and said, 'Our child is in here now.' We took the barrier down and confronted a frustrated Enma. We gave him the rose, telling him to guard it well and to keep it safe always and that if he even TRIED to harm the rose and Seiko's soul that dwelled within it, there will be a dangerous consequence. Enma knew how much power and knowledge that Kaji had and dared not to disobey. Enma helped heal my internal wounds and left. I turned to Kaji and we both knew that it was time for me to go. 'I'll never see my child again and now I'll never see my love again .,' Kaji had said and for the first time in my life, I saw him shed a tear. I kissed him and closed my eyes as I took a step towards the portal that was still open. Right before I left, I turned around and yelled 'AI SHITERU! We WILL see each other again, so don't forget me!' Tears brimmed my eyes as I turned to step through the portal but before I could, I heard his voice say 'Baka! How can I every forget you? Yes, we WILL see each other again; I swear it on all the seven hells that we'll see each other again! AI SHITERU!' his shout faded as I went through the portal. Funny, did you kids know that tears don't dry up or disappear when you travel through the portal?" said Genkai with a dry laugh as more tears fell involuntarily down her cheek.  
  
Botan had arrived right before the story to see if they needed any help. She had tears in her eyes when Genkai finished her story.  
  
One more chapter to go! Or I'm thinkin about makin two more .lol, what do you people think? Anywayz, I decided to tell more of Seiko's history, along with more on Genkai and Kaji. Do you guys think that Genkai will really see Kaji again? What about Riuu? Will Seiko avenge the threat and harm that Riuu inflicted on her friends and mother? ^o^ Hehe, until next time! 


End file.
